You Don't Know Who Your Son Is
by DYquem
Summary: Hikaru's father learns his son isn't just some boy who managed to pass a difficult exam.  He learns more about Hikaru the man.


As you probably know, I don't own Hikaru no Go and appreciate the owners letting me play in their universe. I definitely don't make any money from this fic.

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This Fanfic stems from a fic written by _Betula_ titled "My Stranger My Son." You can find it on fanfic. I have tried to add enough information to give you the setting even if you don't read her fic but I highly recommend that you do. It's very good and gives excellent insight into Hikaru's father and the entire dynamic of the Shindou family.

I wrote to Betula and she very kindly gave me permission to post this story.

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Hikaru was pleased to be playing go rather than propping up the wall at the party. He had tried to make desultory conversation with the other teens but he truly had nothing in common with them. They were focused on high school, school clubs and superficial flirtations with boys or girls. Hikaru was focused on how to out smart Morishita 9-dan and Akira. He really had not particularly wanted to attend this "business party" his father's boss was giving but Shindou Masao had made it clear all family members were to be in attendance. Then Watanabe introduced the special guest and VIP Nakamura and Hikaru didn't look back. The moment Nakamura had bowed and called him 'Shindou-sensei' the entire evening had improved. He had jumped at the opportunity to play a teaching game with someone who followed go. Hikaru had been pleased to find out that Nakamura was a very strong player for an amateur.

While Watanabe and Shindou Masao had watched the game, Watanabe had escaped shortly after the game ended and took Shindou Masao with him. Hikaru got a laugh at the look on Watanabe's face when he offered to play a game with his father's boss. 'I wouldn't have needed more than about a minute of think time to destroy him, and most of that would have been laying the stones. He practically scurried away.' Then Hikaru turned his attention mentally back to discussing the game with Nakamura.

They had been discussing the game for about 10 minutes when Shindou Masao came back into the library escorting Nakamura's wife. She observed the game for a moment or two before addressing her husband. She knew the only reason her husband had planned more than a token appearance at this family party was to meet Shindou-sensei. He had stayed this long at the gathering because of the go professional. Sakura knew her husband had a limited attention span for business social situations and his private opinion was if he was the VIP and the party was in his honor, then he did not need to stay long. He considered it one of the perks for reaching his position in life that he did not need to waste a lot of time on business social chitchat. 'Business is business and social is social' was his mindset. Watanabe had heard about Nakamura's opinions and had shamelessly enticed him by deliberately making this a 'family gathering.' The other teenagers invited were nothing more than window dressing to have an excuse to get Shindou's son at the party.

"How is the game going, dear?" Nakamura Sakura said.

"Very well," Nakamura looked up and told her. "I lost of course, and now Shindou-sensei is discussing the game with me. It's been very illuminating. Hmm, I'm getting thirsty, Sakura; could you please bring me a beer?"

"Of course; I'll go get it right now."

"Excuse me, could I have some lemonade?" Hikaru asked Nakamura's wife.

"HIKARU!" His father was mortified. For his teenage son to ask the wife of the VIP to bring him a beverage was appallingly rude. He was embarrassed to his toes. He could not believe Hikaru had so lost his manners as to ask a VIP to serve him. Hikaru just looked at his father with a bit of confusion on his face. He was thirsty. She was bringing Nakamura a drink. What was the problem? Shindou Masao went beet red and wanted to fall through the floor. His son didn't even have the grace to be embarrassed about it. He would certainly discuss this with him at home. Nakamura eyed Shindou Masao with an odd look and a small smile.

"Of course," Nakamura's wife said cheerfully. "I apologize for not asking. What was that you would like? Would you like anything else other than lemonade?"

"Nothing else for me; just the lemonade would be nice, thank you." Hikaru said and Nakamura's wife went off in search of the drinks. There was an awkward silence for a moment or two before Hikaru said "Well, this seems like a good time to take a short break. I need to use the toilet." He excused himself and left the room.

Masao was silent for a few moments and then suddenly bowed to Nakamura with a bow of apology from an inferior to a superior. He stated, "I apologize, Nakamura-san, for my son's behavior in asking your wife to serve him. I am very sorry. I do not know why he would do such a thing."

Nakamura just looked at him again with that disconcerting smile. It made Masao feel that Nakamura knew things Masao did not, which he probably did, Masao knew. This was borne out when Nakamura said,

"You do not know who your son is, do you?" Nakamura asked. There wasn't much Masao could think to say to that so he just waited. He remembered the bow Nakamura made to Hikaru and the comment about 'Shindou-sensei.'

There was a moment or two more silence and Masao said "Hikaru is a professional go player. I know that." It sounded feeble even to him. Nakamura laughed softly.

"He is far more than that. I don't just enjoy playing go seriously. The go community is my hobby and I suppose you could call me a bit of a follower of your son and some of the other young players. It is one of the reasons I was so pleased to hear that Watanabe was making this a family gathering and there might be an opportunity to meet him.

"Shindou-sensei passed the pro exam after less time as an insei than anyone ever before or since. Although it isn't a requirement, most people passing the exam are insei prior to taking the exam. Not only that, but he passed the exam after less total time playing the game than anyone in history ever. Your son had been playing go for less than two years when he passed the pro exam at the age of 14. He is not the youngest to ever pass the exam, but to pass with that little experience is literally unprecedented."

"Your son has virtually no losses amongst the lower 1-4 dan except for that string of forfeits in his first year. If anyone in the go community knows what caused those forfeits they have not publicized it and they have never been repeated. When he plays his games, he wins them."

"Touya Akira, who is the former Meijin's son, is widely regarded as the best in his age group. It is accepted as fact he will be considered one of the best living players period once he gets a few more years experience under his belt. He started playing at the age of two and was trained by his father who is definitely considered the best living player in the world. I doubt even the Koreans or Chinese would dispute that. Shindou-sensei is truly the only one in their age group who begins to challenge Touya Akira. He does that with three years playing experience compared to Touya Akira-sensei's 13 years of experience."

"I have also read in _Go Weekly_ that your son has no Sensei of his own, or at least no one that anyone knows about. There is a weekly study group mentioned, but that is not the level of personal training that most pros have. Most of the younger insei and many young pros have private lessons. No one knows how your son became so good at go and it is considered a bit of a mystery in the go community. He seems to be a natural."

Masao considered that. He didn't know how Hikaru had become so proficient at go. It certainly didn't come from him. On the other hand, his wife had never really mentioned any kind of "go tutor" until Hikaru applied for the insei exam.

"Your son was one of three young men age 18 or younger chosen to represent Japan in an international tournament held when he was 15 years old. He had been playing go for 3 years. There were only three representatives out of the entire country. He played second board against China and then, in a move which surprised everyone in the go community, he was made first board over Touya Akira for their match with Korea; that means the team manager considered him the number one player in the entire country to face the best Korea had to offer. Both the Chinese and the Koreans are known for their high level of play and it was assumed by many that Japan's only possible hope of competing was Touya Akira. Shindou-sensei came as a surprise to everyone."

"I thought he lost both those games," Masao said.

"In my opinion that means nothing. Your son played a game against the Korean first board worthy of an 8 or 9 dan player and lost by half a moku against a highly skilled opponent with more years of experience in the game and vastly more experience in high profile tournaments and international media attention. Shindou-sensei was 15 years old, a 1-dan at the time, and had never had any high profile experience whatsoever. I watched those games and saw his face. He had never faced cameras, television crews or publicity of any kind. It is hard to play your best the first time you are in a high pressure situation. I learned that as a business man years ago when I was young. I blame the team manager. Kurata-sensei didn't think to prepare or train him to face the cameras, and his nerves showed during his first game against China. Despite that, once he got his legs under him in that game, he made a comeback no other pro could probably have accomplished and came close to winning it.

"Go is a serious hobby to me. I study it. Without false modesty and when playing black I can probably beat a weaker pro at least a third of the time in an even game. I asked for four stones against your son and lost which was not a surprise to me. Your son is not just a young man who managed to pass the exam and qualify as a go pro. There is a large pool of relatively mediocre professional players who make a living by teaching and commenting on the games of others.

Your son is Shindou Hikaru. His skills when he passed the exam were probably higher than some of the weaker professionals will attain after a lifetime of study. He honors me with this game and the discussion. The fault is not with him that he asked my wife to bring him lemonade. The fault is mine for not having anticipated his needs and offered him refreshment."

Masao blinked in mild shock, and then sighed. "Perhaps you are correct. It seems I truly do not know my own son."


End file.
